Follow KPCC

Could the News Corp scandal come to the US?

by The Madeleine Brand Show

News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch (C) looks down as he leaves the One Aldwych Hotel surrounded by his personal security team to speak with reporters after meeting with the family of murdered school girl Milly Dowler on in London, England. Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images

Share

The phone-hacking scandal that has rocked the News Corp. media empire could be coming to America. It started in Great Britain, where Rupert Murdoch's News of the World tabloid was brought down by accusations of phone hacking and police bribery.

Several of central figures in the scandal have been forced to resign, like Rupert Murdoch's son James Murdoch, and News Corp has paid out millions of pounds in settlements to victims of phone hacking.

The controversy has since engulfed several other newspapers, the London Metropolitan Police, Scotland Yard, and even British Prime Minister David Cameron.

Now Mark Lewis, the British lawyer who represented nearly 100 of those alleged phone hacking victims, is in the U.S.

When Lewis was first involved in this case, he was a lawyer in Manchester specializing in defamation cases. He took on the case of Gordon Taylor, who runs the Professional Footballers Assoc. in Britain, and sued News Corp. newspaper The News of the World to prevent them from printing a story that alleged he was having an affair.

Guest:

Mark Lewis, the British attorney who represents victims of alleged phone-hacking from News Corp.

Recently on The Madeleine Brand Show

About The Madeleine Brand Show

The Madeleine Brand Show, exclusively on 89.3 KPCC, 89.1 KUOR and 90.3 KVLA, captures the spirit of the West in a conversational, informal, witty style and examines the cultural issues people are buzzing about. Hosted by Madeleine Brand, and produced by Kristen Muller, Steve Proffitt and Sanden Totten, the show includes regular segments like Weird L.A. - highlighting a person, place or thing that you've never heard about, but probably should; Parenting on the Edge - a weekly discussion on the challenges and pitfalls of raising kids; as well as regular contributors like Luke Burbank, Rico Gagliano, Brendan Newnam and John Moe to help dissect culture, technology and business news.